Season 5, Episode 2: To Place Your Better Days
by RedRogue
Summary: The X-Men are accidentally transported to ten years in the future, to witness some disturbing results of their lives: Scott's married, but not to Jean, Kurt's dead, either Rogue or Jean's pregnant, and their only hope of getting home is continents away...
1. Focus on the Future

**A/N:**** Kitty wanted more X-Fics. This qualifies. I hope you're happy, Shadow. Happy Birthday!**

Season 5, Episode 2:  
"To Place Your Better Days"

~RR~

Scott was up bright and early that morning, as always. His clothes were wrinkle free, and perfectly in place on him, not a crooked gridline in sight. He felt especially confident this morning, after having his third date with Jean last night. It had gone off perfect, no hitches. He hadn't stopped thinking of her all night, and still into this morning. He loved being in love.

Today's training session was going to be a fun one, in the form of water polo on this hot day. Scott's favorite sport.

He met with Rogue in the hall on the way to the kitchen, just slipping on her gloves as she came from her room. She smiled sweetly at him, but walked beside him in silence, preoccupied with slipping on her netted summer gloves.

Gambit emerged from the next room they past, and Rogue immediately began to walk faster, annoyed by his mere presence.

"Hey dere, Chere-"

"-Shuddup, Cajun," she said, hurrying to walk past.

Gambit smirked and straightened his trench coat, and joined Scott on his walk instead, since Rogue had abandoned them.

"She's sweet, ain't she?" Gambit said, and Scott wasn't sure if he was joking or not. He had been finding Gambit was very hard person to read.

Scott and Gambit made it to the kitchen, and helped themselves to some breakfast burritos, and made their way with the others to the pool. Almost everyone was already there. Kitty, Lea, and Danielle were sunbathing, Bobby was hanging on the fence talking with Roberto… at least that's what they were trying to fake as they observed the girls tanning. All others were already under way in their water polo game.

Scott smiled and waved at his brother already in the pool, glad that Alex was finally settling in okay. In fact, it was days like this that made him forget the tortures of the outside world and just be thankful he was a mutant. A new age beyond Apocalypse was arising, and Scott was glad to see it was turning out for the better. Though, his past experiences made him wonder how long this savored peace would last.

New recruits had heard of Xavier's school and kept pouring in by the truckful. One named Damien Coles, or 'Firestarter', was among the more recent ones, a flame-throwing recruit from the deserts of Arizona. He was currently maintaining a safe distance from the water, his concerned eyes glued to Kitty Pryde like an eagle. The boy was similar and different to their first fire-flinging mutant encounter, Pyro. Like Pyro, Damien could control the flame, but unlike Pyro, he could also create it in his very hands. He practically lived on lighter fluid, keeping it in a small silver flask in his jacket and drinking it like an alcoholic to liquor. He was a strange one, bordering on downright insane, with little or no hygiene practices, and a twitch in his left eye. This caused the other students to keep away from him, and Scott doubted Damien had made any friends. It was also common knowledge that he had a large 'thing' for Kitty, which was probably the only reason he was even present near the dreaded poolside.

"You coming in the water, Damien?" Scott asked the boy gently. "You must be hot in all those clothes."

"I'm wearing them as protection from the water," he explained with a twitch. "The- the water… It- it burns my skin."

Scott chuckled.

"If you're so afraid of it, then why are you sitting so close?"

Another twitch.

"I'm making sure nothing happens to Kitty."

"What could possibly happen?"

"The water…" Damien said, rocking slightly back and forth. "The water is very dangerous…"

Scott shrugged and decided it best to leave him be.

Scott took off his shirt and prepared to jump into the game. On one side was Jean, Remy, Kurt, and Alison. On the other team was Logan, Alex, Hank, and another new recruit named Sheela. Sheela was a high-energy, wide-eyed African-American girl from Australia, with a long black mousy tail, a feature which had earned her the codename "Mouse". Sheela had the ability to shapeshift into animals and insects, a talent that aided her incredibly in her fetish for spying.

As such, she was the new head of the 'Gossip Committee': the organized club of popular young X-Girls that shared rumors and dirty romantic secrets that they had discovered around the mansion, usually found out through spying or eavesdropping. Thus, any member of the "G.C." (which also included Lea, Kitty, Danielle, and Tabitha), was not a welcome listener to a personal conversation, for their mouths could spread secrets faster than you could get them out. They also had a nasty streak of forceful matchmaking, encouraging relationships even against the potential partners will- if the Committee voted them a good match. They did come in handy sometimes, though, for if ever there was information to be known on someone, they were the people to see.

Scott observed the game for a moment, fearful of jumping in before he knew how intense it was going. The last time Wolverine and Gambit had been put on the same team and the results had been painful and disastrous.

Today, the polo teams were pretty evenly matched. Jean's team was losing, but they were putting up a good fight.

"Got it, Sheela!" Jean yelled, diving for the ball.

"Head's up, Elf!"

"Over here, Hank!"

"Sheela, pay attention to the game, not Scott!"

"Well, _soorrrRY_!"

"Scott," Jean said finally. "Jump in! We need you."

It was all the encouragement he needed.

"No problem," Scott agreed, shedding his shirt and hopping in.

"You're goin' down, Cajun," Logan threatened competitively, holding up the ball to serve. Ever since Gambit had arrived, Logan seemed to have a personal vendetta against him for reasons unknown to Scott.

"Non, m'sieu, I think _you_ be goin' undah," Gambit retorted with a smile.

And maybe he darn well would've, if it hadn't been for one minor distraction that came at that very moment, in the form of Rogue in a bikini, sarong, and sunglasses. She walked cautiously to a lawn chair with Kitty and the girls, being careful to avoid flesh contact, and made herself comfortable with a magazine.

A stray serve conked Remy in the head more than once. Needless to say, Gambit's team lost that game.

"I demand a rematch!" Kurt called out as they dried off. "One without a certain _distraction_."

"I agree!" Scott said, crossing his arms. Man, he hated losing.

"You guys lost, fair and square," Sheela said. "Just admit it already."

"We totally had you until a little _Rogue_ came outside," Jean growled.

"Huh?" Rogue said, looking up from her magazine. "What was that?"

"NOTHING!" they all said together.

"_Scott_." Scott stopped at hearing the professor's voice in his head.

"Yes, Prof?"

"_Don't forget about your work with Lea. It's Thursday_."

Scott groaned.

"Lea?" he called to her, but she was already gathering her things from the lounge chair.

"Yeah, I heard him," Lea replied with a sigh.

Scott passed the ball to Logan, and made his way to the pool stairs.

"Gotta go, guys. Duty calls. Kitty, want to replace me?"

"Are you kidding?" Kurt laughed. "Everyone knows cats and water don't mix, _mon freund_."

"As if!" Kitty argued, throwing her sunscreen aside and jumping into the pool with the rest of them. "You're more cat-like than me, furball. Prepare to get served a Kitty-_treat_…"

~RR~

In the study, Scott worked with Lea with Xavier to supervise.

"Okay, focus." Scott said, leaning closer to her. "Focus on me. What do you see?" Her eyes were closed, and pressed together hard in concentration.

"I'm…" Lea said, her brow furrowed in deep stress. "Ten years in the future… I see you… But not me…"

"What else?"

"I see… you… you're yelling… you're really mad… at Jean…"

"Why?"

"I don't know… She's mad at you too…"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Seems that way… There's Alex too… He's really happy…"

Scott sighed. She always strayed off the subject of him whenever they did this. It always turned into Alex. Scott was beginning to think that she liked him. What other explanation could there be?

"No, Lea, stay on me. What else do you see?"

"I can't really tell… There's Remy, and Jean, and Sheela… Kitty… and… Alex…"

"Yeah, you said that already."

Scott wanted to make her focus. The Prof had told him that skin-to-skin contact amplified her power. Just maybe… One little touch…

"Scott, no!" Professor exclaimed, but not fast enough.

Scott reached and grabbed her hand, and felt an instant jolt. The ground shook beneath him, but there was too much energy. The room spun, then went dark. Lea screamed, and Scott passed out.

_Cue theme song…_

~RR~_  
_

**Please review.  
Signed,  
RedRogue**


	2. In Another Time

Scott rubbed his eyes from the light of a new day. The sun streamed through a nearby window into his eyes, and he quickly assumed someone put him to bed after he passed out. He looked for his the clock, then thought it odd that it wasn't on the right side end table, as it usually was.

That was strange. Maybe he had gotten turned around. He looked over his shoulder, to see if his digital clock was there instead. It was. It said: 8:05 A.M. A little later than usual, but that was okay, no training session today to worry about. Scott sighed.

"What a dream I had…" he whispered to himself.

Suddenly, Scott tensed. Wait a second. He looked over his shoulder again. There was a warm body lying next to him. A woman. Was it… Jean? He gently pulled the blanket down to see a blonde head of a stranger.

Scott leapt out of bed, quickly and rather ungracefully plopping to the floor below, stirring the other occupant of the bed. How did he get here? He was only eighteen, for crying out loud! Who the heck was in his bed?

"Scott?" The blonde spoke. Did not sound like Jean. Definitely _not_ Jean. Definitely very wrong.

"What's the matter, honey?" she moaned again.

"I, uh…" Suddenly, Scott began to get it. "Oh no, Lea must've…"

"Wait, who's Lea?"

Was he in the future? It only made sense… He hurried for something to reply.

"I gotta go."

She sat up, revealing a white satin nightgown, and her blue eyes looked bewildered as ever as their eyes met.

"Scott, why don't you recognize me?" she said, and Scott felt that familiar twinge of a psychic inside his thoughts. She was a telepath.

Scott almost tripped trying to scramble out the door. He had to get out of here. He flew down the stairs three at a time, into the living room. Already waiting were Kurt, Kitty, and a sight for sore eyes, Jean. They all seemed just as troubled as Scott.

"Hey," Scott panted, unsure if this was all a dream.

"Scott, thank God," Jean bolted to her feet. "Do you know where Lea Chan is?"

"Wait," Scott put up a hand. "You guys wake up in the wrong decade too?"

"If the 'wrong decade' you mean is, like, totally and utterly wrong decade, then yes," Kitty agreed. "I woke up to that Colossus guy at my door and he totally _kissed_ me! And get this, there is this purple bat-lizard they say I keep as a pet!"

"And I'm _dead_!" Kurt said, his eyes tearing. "Mr. McCoy totally flipped out when he saw me!"

"Whoa, okay, slow down," Scott said, putting up his hands to stop them. "This is worse than I thought, and it's all my fault. Last thing I remember, Lea was seeing you guys in the future…" He looked at them with apologetic eyes. "My touching her must've sent us to what she saw."

They all were silent for a moment, taking it all in. Scott hurriedly thought of whom else she mentioned.

"Alex," Scott said. "And Remy. They need to be here too."

"I'll go for Gambit," Jean offered. "You go find your brother."

Scott nodded and took off toward the lower level elevators, while Jean jetted to the stairs, straight to Remy's room. She was almost afraid to open the door. She opened it slowly, just enough to let him peek inside. He was in bed, and Rogue was next to him. Jean couldn't help but wince.

"Pssst!" Jean said. "Gambit?"

He stirred, and put his arm around Rogue, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Jean couldn't stand the sight much longer.

"Pssst! _Gambit_!"

Remy forced open his eyes and looked around the room, as if finally realizing it was different, and seemed confused.

"Huh?" He quickly noticed Rogue and smiled. "Oh my…" He sat up, rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren't lying to him. "Dought fo' sho' I woulda rememba'd _you_, Chere…"

"Oy." Jean rolled her eyes. "Come on, we'll explain in the living room."

Remy crawled out of bed, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. Jean was utterly grossed out, and put up a hand to shield her eyes. He was He

"And put some pants on!" she commanded, before closing the door behind herself.

~RR~

"Where's Alex?" Jean asked as a groggy Remy followed close behind her. Scott was already waiting back in the living room, and without Alex, much to her surprise.

"Can you imagine?" Scott replied, shaking his head. "He's leading his own team on some mission. They say he'll be back tonight… if he survives."

Scott put his head into his hands in utter distress, sighing deeply and for a moment gave into his hopelessness.

"Scott…" Jean breathed in pity. "Alex is a smart boy. I'm sure he'll be alright."

Scott shook his head to express doubt, but knew worrying wouldn't help matters, and forced himself to put it aside for what problems were at hand.

"So, what is it we do know?" Scott asked. "We should be totally honest with each other, so that what we all know what we're supposed to. We have to play along today, just until we can find Lea to send us back. I have a feeling it's really important we do this right. So, to start, we know we're in another time…"

"Ten years, to be exact," Jean offered.

"That means I'm supposed to be pushing thirty," Scott added. "What else do we know?"

"According to fair Chere's diary," Remy mumbled from the back of the gathered group, holding up an open notebook in his hands. "We are quite married and trying to have little ones."

"A diary?" Jean piped up excitedly. "That's genius! Everyone, if you kept a journal, spread out and find them. Maybe we can read up on some more about our current selves. I'll try to find out where Lea is. Until then, everyone, go about your day as if nothing is wrong."

Scott gulped then, and it was visible to all. He was scared. If they didn't find Lea… Would they be stuck here forever?

"How long you think we'll be here?" Kurt pressed.

"Who knows…?" Scott replied truthfully. "But whatever we find out, we report to everyone ASAP. Do your best to pretend we belong here."

"What about me?" Kurt screeched. "I'm _dead_!"

"Well," Scott said sadly. "You're just going to have to hang outside town until… You know."

Kurt was not thrilled. He frowned, and Scott felt bad for him.

"Sorry, Kurt. I'll call you on the comm as soon as anything changes."

Kurt seemed bummed, but ported out.

"Well, I dunno what everyone's all in a tizzy about," Remy piped up from the back of the room again. "Gambit accepted here, an' married to a fine Cherie, an' able to touch her too! Me t'inks he could get used to dis _real_ fast."

All faces turned to Remy, who simply shrugged. Scott stood a bit taller, and pointing a warning index finger his way.

"Look, there will be no touching Rogue. In our time, she still hates you, so out of respect for her, I'm pulling out the leader card and forbidding it."

Remy folded his arms and stood up straighter too.

"She won' remember a t'ing, and you can not stop me. Far as Gambit's concerned, he has no leada'."

As luck would have it, Emma, the blonde from Scotts bed that morning, walked in at that very moment. She came over to Scott, and leaned to his ear as she passed. Scott tensed and froze at her touch.

"Hello, honey…" she breathed, taking a firm glance to Jean as she did so. She was staking her territory, for certain, and it made Jean grit her teeth. "We having a little pow-wow, here? And I wasn't invited?"

"Um…" Scott worriedly looked at Jean, and the redhead crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, like a challenge.

"Hey… Babe." Scott spat out. "Good morning."

"Good morning yourself," Emma replied, kissing his cheek and heading for the kitchen. Remy whistling approvingly then, seeming to have instantaneously appeared behind Scott.

"You know," Remy muttered in a low voice,. "She wouldn't remember nothin' either."

"Shut up, Gambit."

"And _who_ was that?" Jean demanded, while Kitty started to bite her fingernails behind her in worry.

"Her name's Emma?" Scott replied shamefully, scrunching his shoulders. "I met her this morning. She's a telepath, just like you… She's kind of my wife."

"'Kind of your _WIFE_'?" Jean bellowed. "You're _married_? To someone _else_?"

"You know, I want to say sorry, but I don't think that's appropriate since I haven't done anything wrong."

"But you _WILL_!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Scott protested. "You're going to blame me for something I haven't even done yet?"

"Key word there, Scott… 'YET'."

"JEAN!" Scott was getting angry. "That's not cool. I haven't done anything."

"BUT YOU _WILL_!"

"_Mon ami_, please lower the voices," Remy coaxed, sounding bored as he inspected his nails. "My Chere's still sleepin', ya know."

"Shut up, Gambit!" they said together. Then Kitty grew alarmed.

"You're 'Chere'? _Pleeease_ tell me you're not talking about _Rogue_."

"Dere ain't no other Cherie, mon ami."

"Eww!" Kitty yelled. "That is sick on _sooo_ many levels."

"Okay, would everyone just calm down?" Scott yelled, throwing his hands up. "This isn't getting us anywhere."

"We'll _never_ get anywhere if we just keep standing around!" Jean threw up her hands in outrage. "And the sooner we get out of this madhouse, the better. Let's go, people!"

"Speak for yourself," Remy grumbled some more.

Jean stormed off in a huff, and Scott, still a bit angry himself, made sure he left in the opposite direction.

~RR~

**Please review,  
Signed,  
-RedRogue**


	3. Carrying On

"Excuse me, Professor…?" Scott said in a low voice, knocking lightly as he opened the study door. The Professor of the future didn't seem so very different from the Xavier of the past, save for a few more bookshelves lining the walls, a few more awards for peacekeeping, and a few more pictures of thankful mutants now living normal lives elsewhere. The Professor turned to face his pupil. Scott could see the age showing upon his features, the crow's feet around his eyes, the wrinkles around his mouth and neck. Yet still he seemed exactly the same, gentle figure that Scott had always known and loved.

"Yes, Scott?" the Professor replied gently.

"Yeah, well, you see, uh… I forgot… Whatever happened to Lea?"

"She went back to China soon after an incident with you… about nine or ten years ago."

Scott sighed. Didn't take a genius to figure out what incident that was.

"Why, don't you remember?"

Scott was suddenly taken aback for a moment, as he could swear he saw some traces of a smile on the edges of his Professor's mouth when he said this. Scott knew when it came to the Professor, it proved best for him to be as honest as he could.

"I remember that it was my fault."

"You always did blame yourself."

Scott was beginning to get annoyed at that smile. Professor always did that when he knew something he wasn't letting on to. Could he suspect…?

"Is there any way to get a hold of her?"

"I don't not believe she will be able to send you back, Scott."

Oh, he definitely knew. Scott sighed and finally took a seat before his desk.

"Why not?"

"Because there is a big difference between sending people to the future, and sending them to the past. It doesn't work that way. You might have noticed your bodily appearance is now trying desperately to catch up with your current years…"

In all actuality, Scott _hadn't_ noticed until just then. Suddenly, he realized that his body ached, and his skin felt stretched, as if his muscles were trying to burst through it. It was a very discouraging feeling, the knowledge that this might be permanent damage. He rubbed his forearms, hoping to ease some of this newfound pain.

"Not to mention all of your knowledge of your future self will serve to corrupt whatever past brought you here."

Scott frowned.

"So we're stuck here."

"I believe so."

"I don't want to be. This isn't the life I desired for myself."

"All hope is not lost yet. If you wish, I will contact our friend Lea. She is really much more advanced in her power now. It is why she left. She felt she had learned all she needed, and she didn't wish to pursue teaching or heroism, and thought would be more in place back in China. I will ask her if she can assist you. In the meantime, I can only ask that you make the best of your time here, and carry on as you were."

Kitty phased her head through the ground underneath the kitchen table, checking from right to left if the coast was clear. Once satisfied it was, she let the rest of herself appear into the room, allowing her feet to walk upon the solid tile floor.

"Finally!" she huffed, rushing to the refrigerator for some long-awaited nourishment. She'd been avoiding that big metal Russian for the better part of the day, as he followed her around persistently asking for a moment to talk alone. She didn't know what future Kitty would have thought about that, but current Kitty had decided quickly that it sounded like a direly _bad_ idea.

"Kiska!" that Russian accent rang out from behind her. Kitty gasped in surprise, dropping various sandwich ingredients of all kinds to the floor. "I thought I might find you here…"

"For the last time!" Kitty huffed, dropping to the floor in a hurry to clean her mess up so she could escape his presence once more. "It's pronounced '_Kitty_'! Kit. _Teee_!"

Peter rushed to her aid, his big hand scooping up mustard and mayonnaise jars like they were merely the size of ping-pong balls.

"My apologies, Kis- I mean, Kitty. You have not objected to my nicknames before."

Kitty shoved all of the condiments back into the fridge, snatching the rest from Peter in a snake-like fashion and hurling them back into the same fate.

"Well, this Kitty has had a big change of heart, okay?" she huffed as she slammed the door to fridge shut with a rattling "_bang!_"

Her violent rampage only paused when she saw the expression plummet upon Peter's face. She immediately regretted her harshness.

"That is most unfortunate you should say that," Peter said in a quiet voice. "This being the day of our anniversary."

Kitty bit her lip, her heart pounding nervously.

"Oh, wow. Like, how long have we been together?"

"Four years today. I find it ironic you should forgit when you did remind me of this fifteen times… just yesterday."

"Yeaaahhh…" Kitty fidgeted with her hair. "I'm not feeling so much… uh, like… myself? Maybe soon, hopefully I'll get back to acting like the self you know me as… but for now, and I really don't mean any offense, but I'd really just like to be left alone for now. I'm totally sorry about the anniversary thing, but it'll have to wait, I guess."

"I will wait," Peter agreed with a nod as he turned to leave. "But this day will not. So, I will leave my gift to you, and you may do with it as you wish."

Peter gently put down a piece of paper on the dining table, gave it a single pat, then took his leave. Kitty waited only moments after he was gone before she went to the table to pick up the folded paper he had left. She quickly unfolded it, and let her eyes digest the black and white charcoal image that was beset upon it.

It was her, in a blue, long, flowing medieval dress, with a crown upon her head. A masked knight was kneeling before her, an outstretched arm presenting a flower in a wooing attempt to impress, who one could tell was obviously meant to be Peter in physique alone.

"_To my Kiska"_, read the bottom, "_From your knight in shining metal."_

Kitty felt her features soften, enchanted by the image and regretting her every harsh word said to him. After four years, it was obvious that his heart had not lessened towards her, and his knowledge of her love for cheesy, over-the-top gestures was apparent. She took a deep, elated sigh as she hugged the paper to her chest, then quickly folded it back up and pocketed it before anyone noticed her.

Scott paced impatiently in the hangar bay, checking his watch every two seconds, anxiously awaiting the return of the Blackbird, and hopefully, his fully intact brother.

"Please," he prayed to the ceiling. "_Please_ let Alex be okay… Where _are_ they?"

No sooner had he spoken, then the click of the hangar doors opened up, and the waterfall parted aside like a curtain, to reveal the new, impressively improved blackbird come sweeping in for a landing. Scott enduring the intense noise of the engine, and the swarming winds of the jets, now patiently waiting for the team within to emerge.

The front doors opened, and at once Scott recognized a more grown-up version of Jamie Madrox, along with a few copies of himself joining into his main body to become singular again as he walked down the ramp. He was followed by a few others Scott recognized, like Rahne Sinclair and Pietro Maximoff, AKA Wolfsbane and Quicksilver.

Then a very large man in circular goggles emerged, carrying the front of a stretcher, while Forge took up the rear. It was Alex on the stretcher, barely conscious, and moaning in pain.

"Oh no!" Scott ran to him, surveying the severity of his injuries, then demanded answers. "What happened?" he frantically looked to Forge to explain.

"I don't really know," Forge shook his head sadly. "He seemed fine this morning, then on right in the middle of our mission, it seemed like he snapped and he suddenly wasn't himself anymore. He got nervous and confused like he didn't know where he was… it's obvious how the day ended."

Scott frowned and leaned close to his ailing brother.

"Alex, listen to me," Scott whispered. "I know what's going on with you, and I'll explain everything later. You just sit tight."

Scott immediately saw the relief of hope flood Alex's eyes, which only echoed the comfort in Scott at the seemingly lost situation he had put them all in. At least his brother was alive, even if he wasn't well…

At least he was alive.

Later that night, when all other X-Men had long settled into sleep, Scott sat restless at his brother's bedside, listening to the beeps of his heart monitors. He sighed deeply, exhausted, his mind relentlessly still beating himself up at getting them all into this mess.

"Still down here?" Scott heard a female voice from the doorway. Scott sat up in surprise, seeing Jean coming through the doorway and taking a seat beside him. "I heard that he had gone unconscious. "Did you get to explain to him what was going on?"

"Yeah, I managed to slip it in before he slipped out," Scott admitted. "I promised him I'd get him out of this, somehow. I promised him. I don't know why I did that, when I don't know if I can keep it."

"The pressure is on all of us, not just you, Scott," Jean sighed heavily, casting her eyes elsewhere. "They say I'm supposed to be with Logan now, but that's not the bad part."

"It's not?" Scott piped in with confusion.

"Mr. McCoy just mentioned something to me about Rogue and I having a pregnancy that needed more medical supervision. From what I could gather, either Rogue's pregnant and ignoring it… or I am."

Something boiled inside of Scott at this, his jealousy reaching new heights.

"You might be having a baby…" Scott repeated through his teeth. "With Logan…"

"Scott, don't start…"

"With LOGAN? What a hypocrite!"

"Don't you go name-calling, that won't solve anything…"

"Name-calling? You'd best be thanking me for not doing worse to you! I still _love_ you! This future isn't some binding fate that we can't avoid. As far as I'm concerned, it's a path. A choice. An option. I don't care what's going on around here, from where I'm standing, I still love you. Nothing has changed with me, Jean! And it shouldn't with you."

Jean looked shocked. And wait… was that fear? Scott looked behind himself. Sure enough, there was Emma, standing at the door with an infuriated expression on her face.

"Uuuh…" Scott said, suddenly aware that he might have just screwed up his whole life.

"I knew it," Emma announced, yanking her ring off and throwing it at him before she stormed out of the room. Scott looked at Jean in worry, but they said nothing, only spoke with their eyes.

"Emma!" Scott said at last, racing out the door after her.

**Please review,  
Signed,**

**-RedRogue**


End file.
